After a recall of it’s faulty hip implants, affecting over ninety thousand people worldwide, DePuy has agreed to address the costs of patients affected. If affected by the faulty implants, a patient is entitled to corrective treatment and possibly compensation.

Hip Implant Recall
In August 2010, DePuy a large medical franchise of orthopaedic and neurosurgery companies, issued a voluntary recall of its ASR™ XL Acetabular Hip System and DePuy ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System. The recall was issued after research released by the National Joint Registry (NJR) who found high rates of hip replacement failure for the two hip implant systems. According to DePuy’s own website, one in eight people whose hip replacement surgery used the recalled items experienced problems significant enough to require ‘revision surgery’.

Worldwide 93,000 people have received complete hip replacement or partial hip surgery using the recalled hip implants. In Ireland 3,282 patients were fitted with the faulty implants. Per million population, this gives Ireland the highest implant rate of faulty hips in the world. The Irish Examiner reported in November 2013 that Johnson and Johnson (the parent company of DePuy) have tentatively agreed to a settlement of €3bn to resolve 7,500 lawsuits, implying an average pay-out of €260,000, but varying depending on the medical condition and age of the patient.

Can I Claim on a Faulty Hip Replacement?
If you feel that you have suffered as a result of the DePuy recalled implants, you should take legal advice. Burns Kelly Corrigan Solicitors are specialists in DePuy hip recall lawsuits.

ASR™ XL Acetabular Hip System is a complete hip replacement system. This means that both the ball shaped head of the femur (the main bone at the top of the leg) and the hip socket are replaced by artificial materials.

DePuy ASR™ Hip Resurfacing System is a hip resurfacing system. This means that rather than the whole head of the femur being replaced, a new artificial surface is placed on top of the old worn femur head. Also the lining of the hip socket is replaced by artificial materials in a similar fashion as in a complete hip replacement surgery.

ASR (definition): Articular Surface Replacement – A replacement of the worn surface of a bone on bone joint with a new material, usually artificial.

Acetabular (definition): The cup-shaped cavity on the lateral surface of the hip bone, receiving the head of the femur. i.e. The hip socket.

Arthroplasty is surgery to relieve pain and restore range of motion by realigning or reconstructing a joint.

Revision Hip Replacement Surgery is a second hip replacement surgery. It is basically the same as a normal hip replacement surgery except instead of replacing old worn bone and cartilage, faulty new artificial materials are being replaced instead. A revision surgery would not be necessary if the first surgery was successful.